B4, Group C- Mridul Chulet

Description of project: The average stay in a refugee camp is more than 17 years that is a whole generation living in very undignifying conditions. Therefore, as the world, and technology develop, solutions must be sought. Hamad and I are going to examine the issue from both a humanitarian perspective and most importantly from an engineer's perspective.  Highlighting the problem and its effect on the world. Furthermore, we want to introduce a solution for the housing of refugees. We plan on using the 3D printing technology to build a permanent city for them and which can later be implemented for use in underdeveloped countries for better housing.  

Why chosen: My interest in this topic was fueled by Hamad. He shared an article with me which talked about the refugees from Syria who are currently housed in the Al Zaatari camp. As civil engineers we thought what in the best interest can we help with refugee crisis. Furthermore, I thought providing permanent houses which last longer and are hygienic than the current camps would be a good start to help the refugees.

Relation to IB: 3-D printing is the process of manufacturing three dimensional solid objects from a digital file which is achieved using additive process. With the increase in popularity of 3-D printing, it is nowadays been adopted by big companies because of benefits such as cheap manufacturing, quick production, less wastage and better quality. Using a 3-D printer is really easy and affordable nowadays. For instance, 3-D printing is so easy that you can print anything you want. Whether its shoes, mobile case, toys, utensils etc. You just have to look up for the design on the internet, save it digitally and print. The main reason we choose 3-D printing for building the houses was because it possible to build houses using a 3-D printer. In the article we read, china was built to 10 houses using 3-D printers in less than 24 hours. Therefore, with the advancement in technology on a daily basis, we will soon be able to build high-rise building and what not just by digitally saving the data and printing it using the 3-D printer.  

Challenges: The main challenges we think we will face will be the legal challenges. It would be easy to implement the 3-D printing technology in the area where the refugees currently reside. Also it would be really difficult to obtain information to carry out case studies for our research so we can make intelligent suggestions for the camp. Furthermore, implementing the 3-D printing technology to build house would be a very big challenge because we wouldn’t know how long or durable these houses would be.

References:

1.       http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/08/3d-printed-houses_n_5773408.html

2.   http://www.nature.com/scientificamerican/journal/v308/n5/full/scientificamerican0513-44.html

3.     http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486566.html

Comments,

Hatim,

Great project. I didn’t know concrete mixing would be of great importance until I read your post. I totally agree with you that concrete mix for high rise can be crumb some sometimes and may delay the construction process. Using 3-D printing technology would decrease the construction time and would be cheap. I and Hamad are using the similar technology for building houses using 3-D technology for the refugees and which can be implemented for underdeveloped countries too.

Laura Hill,

I really liked reading your post. I and Hamad are using the similar technology for building houses using 3-D technology for the refugees and which can be implemented for underdeveloped countries too. I am really interested in reading your paper and how 3-D printing can be help for different building materials such as wood fragments, concrete, alloys and plastic. Furthermore, I also believe AI will play an important role in the 3-D printing technology in the coming future.

B4 - Group E - Hamad Al-Hajri

UN expert, Kleinschmidt mentioned in a recent interview that refugee camps shouldn't be temporary, and instead should be a permanent settlement for the refugees. He said

"These are the cities of tomorrow, The average stay today in a camp is 17 years. That’s a generation. In the Middle East, we were building camps: storage facilities for people. But the refugees were building a city. I mean what’s the difference between someone in Philly and somebody in a refugee city? We have to get away from the concept that, because you have that status – migrant, refugee, martian, alien, whatever – you’re not allowed to be like everybody else."



                               Figure 1. A Syrian refugee waking around the Al Zaatari camp.


Therefore, Mridul and I decided to incorporate engineering technologies towards finding a resolution to such an unfortunate situation. The research entitled " Replacing camps with permanent intelligent houses for refugees".  Engineers are charged with finding solutions to make things work reliably, prevent failure and achieve the desired results for the population being served. In my view, this same scientific mindset can be effectively applied to international security and peace keeping.

My immense interest comes mainly from being born and raised in the Middle East, a region that is suffering from constant conflict and is very volatile. That being said, there shouldn't really be a huge gap between engineering principles and applying them towards humanitarian aid, nor should be a large gap between developed countries and regions recovering from civil wars. Furthermore, my strong liking to innovations and technology, especially 3D-printing, is going to help us towards seeking an innovative solution.


In an article I read, China was able to built 10 houses using 3D-printing technology in just 24 hours! This is a clear indication of how important this industry is, and especially it's role in the near future. A private firm called "WinSun" managed to build 10 houses in just 24 hours using the 3D-printing technology. I addition, what was shocking was that one house can be printed, yes printed, for as little as $5,000. I don't see any reason why such thing can't happen in other less fortunate regions. It's truly fascinating how technology is rapidly developing, however what is the point of all this if only part of the world is privileged enough to be part of this amazing development while others do not.

We, Mirdul and I, understand that there are number challenges we have to overcome when conducting our research. First, the isn't really much established in the literature about tuning temporary settlements into a permanent one, therefore, would be very hard looking into effective methodologies of implementing such policy. Furthermore, another challenge would be, whether the 3D printing technology is capable enough to build houses for an entire village. However, we look forward into addressing these challenges and that it won't be a problem.


References :

1- http://www.trueactivist.com/revolutionary-3-d-printer-can-build-10-houses-in-24-hours-and-for-only-5000-each/
2-http://thefreethoughtproject.com/average-stay-refugee-camp-17-years-expert-camps-the-cities-tomorrow/

Comments:
Janet : I believe Drexel should absolutely consider that, as we students are suffering from only having on library to go to. Furthermore, it gets very crowded towards the end of the term and sometimes halfway through the term. Using Revit is very helpful and I anticipate you won't face unsolvable problems, however as you mentioned, one must consider Revit's limitations to come up with high quality work. Good luck

Cristian:

What you are doing is exactly what engineering firms need to do more often. In a world of wars, famine, and unbalanced distribution of resources, other entities must be involved to alleviate the horrendous conditions of certain places. I really enjoyed reading through your post, and I believe it's of a great importance, In light of Latin-American political issues with land distribution.

B4: Janet Tran Group A

Term Project Description

My term project will be an individual that will be related to my senior design project. My design project consists of building a new library for Drexel to suit the needs of contemporary students. I will be using Revit to create a 3-dimensional explicit architectural model of my building. This will allow me to easily create sections, elevations, plans, and 3-dimensional interior and exterior views. Additionally, Revit will also be used to document the mechanical system and create schematic design drawings. Since Revit takes much less effort in drafting duct-layouts than CAD software, I anticipate it will allow me to focus more on design and less on drafting. Additionally, upon sizing and selecting equipment I will be using manufacture's download-able families that interface its specifications. Both drawings and schedules will be made using Revit. This should also allow for a more fluid process between selection, design, and documentation.

 The usefulness of Revit is that is provides and explicit 3-dimensional representation of the building. More traditional software such as AutoCAD is a mere drafting tool that has dimensional limitations. Creating a Revit model forces think about coordination and how the various building systems interact. Although I am not the architect this exercise will allow me to think and take the architectural design into consideration in order to integrate my mechanical design in a more thoughtful way. In addition, it gets me to think about the other systems such as the structural, electrical, and plumbing. 

This project will extend beyond schematic design because I will be providing zone-by-zone load calculations and identify each specific area’s load and system type applications. Unlike the structural system the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system is most likely going to consist of at least more than one type of system. I also intend on beginning ductwork layouts of the building, which is a step more in the design development process rather than the schematic design phase. Though I am not creating an intelligent building, I think these exercises will help advance my skills in the use of Revit. Having never taking a course specifically focused on this program I want to take the opportunity to develop this skill, largely because it becoming an industry standard skill. Once, I am able to establish a fundamental knowledge base it will allow me to really explore other plugin features that are more advanced, such as energy analysis and load calculations. From my understanding most mechanical engineers do not perform calculations in Revit due to its limitations. However, I want to explore this limitation in the future and see how I can use Revit to streamline the design process and make it more efficient.

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